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While Suzannah had to go into work during the week, I took a chance to sneak down to Vienna for a few days of sight seeing by myself. After taking public transport to the main train station, I found that I really didn’t need to leave 90 minutes early, as they don’t announce your platform until about 10 minutes before the train arrives. It is a 4.5 hour train ride through rolling countryside down to Vienna which was really relaxing and quiet. Upon arrival I decided to walk the 10 km or so from the train station to my hotel. Great idea, but true to form I started walking in the wrong direction and my phone didn’t have data in Austria. Finally get my bearings and started off in the right direction. I then proceeded to walk exactly 1 street over from huge palaces and monuments so I didn’t even see them. I made it to the hotel, changed into my running gear and head out for a run. My run was in a park that was once a Royal garden with large trees and paths crisscrossing through it. …

I wanted to see more than just people and man-made places during my weekend in Prague, so I looked around and booked a day hiking trip with Northern Hikes. They picked us up from the hotel and drove us 2 hours North West to the Czech-German border and Bohemian Switzerland National Park. It was a nice drive along the way, passing lots of green fields and cute little towns. As old as some of the buildings and towns in the area are, the park has only been a national park since 2000. We parked and started the hike up the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, a total of 15 km with the first section being the hardest straight up a hill. We walked through very intensely green paths and enjoyed the scenery along the way. It took about an hour to get to our first stop, Pravcicka Brana, the largest natural sandstone arch in Europe. The arch and surrounding areas were in several scenes in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Next to the base of the arch was a cute little restaurant. We explored the…